Don't hate me! I know I havent updated in, like, forever but it's been hard to write. Lots going on in my life now. But the chapter is now up and I hope it was worth the wait!
Moving On...
Aragorn burst around a corner of a break in the towering, rocky cliffs, breathing heavily as he continued running. They were half a day behind the party of Uruk Hai that had captured Merry and Pippin and they needed to keep up their pace if they wished to catch them before they made it to their destination.
Legolas rounded the corner next with Peter right on his heels. The two had been running quite closely together for the past three days but have merely muttered several words.
Peter was still weary to trust the elf and, quite honestly, he did not care to get to know him. There was something-besides the fact that he had a flirtation with his little sister- that was very off putting to Peter.
Susan came next, panting, trying to find her breath. The queen was not much of a runner but she was holding her own during the journey. Besides, she could be doing worse...
From behind her, Susan heard the sound of air rushing out of lungs and a body hitting the ground. She spun back to see Gimili rolling down the grassy hill, grunting the whole way down. He came to a stop and growled into the air, causing her to laugh.
The dwarf looked up at the Narnian queen. "Do you find this amusing, my lady?"
Susan fought to control her laugh, barely succeeding. She went over to Gimili and helped him to his feet. "I am sorry, master dwarf, but it is nice to see someone act less graceful than I." She told him, referring to all of her mishaps during their journey.
"Well, what do you expect!" The dwarf shouted. "We have been traveling for three days straight! No food or rest is to be had."
"We must find Merry and Pippin, Gimili! That is our mission now. Do you want those hobbits to die?"
"No, my lady. Of course not." The dwarf told her, almost shocked that she would ask such a question.
Susan raised an eyebrow at him and crouched down to eye level. "Then stop complaining for it is slowing us down."
Susan tried to keep her face serious but it only lasted a moment. A wide grin appeared across her face and a chuckled escaped her lungs.
Gimili felt the sting of her insult but once that laugh escaped, he began to feel better, like he had been re-energized by the playful mood. "Aye, my lady. I shall work on it."
"Hey, are you two coming?" Peter said from several paces up the next hill.
"Yes, Peter." Susan sighed. Just as Gimili was, she too was exhausted. But she must endure it as the men were. Susan began running to catch up with the three men ahead of her and stopped, curious, when she saw Aragorn leaning his head down against a large stone, listening intently. "What is he doing?" Susan questioned Peter.
The boy shrugged. "Beats me. I have stopped trying to figure out what is going in this world long ago. Now I just go with whatever they say to do."
Susan let a small smile appear and shook her head at Peter. "Oh, my dear brother. How is it that you can go from not listening to anything anyone says to always doing what you are told?"
He gave her a side glance and smirked. "I do not know, Susan. How is it that you can go from always doing what you are told to not listening to anything anyone says?"
Susan laughed, remembering a time when these spats between her and her brother were more often and shared with their younger siblings. It was a happy, much needed memory for her now when things seemed so difficult. "Touche, Peter."
"The Uruk Hai's pace has quickened." Aragorn announced as he sat up straight and stood, looking particularly disgusted. "We have been found out."
Susan was not sure how this was possible for they were nearly half a day's journey behind them and well out of their sight. Could there be spies out here in middle of the wilderness?
"Legolas!" She heard Aragorn's voice carry on the wind up the path. "What do your elf eyes see?"
The queen directed her gaze toward a high hill on which Legolas was standing, staring into the distance. "The Uruk Hai have changed course!" He shouted over his shoulder then paused as if trying to where the Uraki were headed. "They are taking the hobbits to Isenguard!"
"What is at Isenguard?" Peter asked.
"Saruman." Aragorn spit. "He is Saruon's right hand. His alley in the realm of the living until the time he can return to his full power." The man looked back at the Pevensies with determined eyes. "Once he realizes that they do not have the Ring..."
Susan sombered, not needing the man to finish his sentence for she knew what he would say. She grabbed Peter's arm as if to reassure herself that they were not too late, that they still had time. In response, her brother's arm went about her shoulders protectively; he knew how hard this information would hit on the Gentle Queen's heart.
"We have no time to waste, then. Do we?" Peter asked at the same moment that Gimili caught up with them and leaned over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath.
"No, we do not." Aragorn responded. "Let's head out."
The next instant he was running again, catching up with Legolas who was shrinking into the haze of the early morning sunlight. Peter and Susan exchanged a glance before Susan sighed and the two started on their never ending trek once more.
"Come, Gimili!" Susan called behind her. "We are gaining on them!"
She could hear the dwarf mumble something under his breath that, to Susan, sounded oddly like a curse but she did not say anything. The man was already irritable and did not need more of a hard time than she had already given him.
Three days without food and sleep would be trying on anyone but there was no time for whining nor arguing for that matter. There was only time enough to save the hobbits.
For the rest of the day the remaining members of the broken Fellowship ran without speaking a word.
The next morning-by the position of the sun Susan assumed that it was now close to noon-after hours of running Aragorn stopped suddenly and began to stare over a prairie area. It did not seem any different than the terrine they had been traveling on since their journey began but something must have changed...but what?
"This is the realm of Rohan and king Theoden, the great horse master." Aragorn announced.
"Are those in this country friends or foes?" Peter asked.
Susan noticed Aragorn and Legolas exchange a look of defeat.
"I do not know." Aragorn said, finally turning to look back at the Pevensie's. "It has been many years since I have traveled here."
"Well, that is terrific, isn't it?" Susan told them sarcastically. "The Uraki have obviously passed into this country without a hitch which should mean that these people are allies with Saruman." She gave each of the man a raised-eyebrowed glare. "Am I correct?"
From the corner of her eye she could see Peter shaking his head at her. "No, Sue. You are just making assumptions. Perhaps the king of these lands does not have patrols out here."
The queen bit her lip, about to protest, when a sound filled the air-the sound of horse hooves pounding against dirt. She looked back at Peter. "Would you like to stay here and find out who is right, brother?"
"Susan..." Peter warned as he stared into the distance where the shapes of men on horses were beginning to appear. A semi-frightened look sprang to life on his face.
"No, really. I shall just ask them if they are good or evil. It should not be much of an inconvenience to them." She joked, pretending to take a step toward the approaching calvary. She knew that she was right in saying that these people of Rohan were not to be trusted. In the times of war, no one was to be trusted until proven to be so.
The horses and their riders were approaching faster.
Without another word from anyone, Aragorn grabbed hold of Susan's wrist pulling her toward a large boulder. Aragorn was not willing to risk their lives to amuse the queen.
The three other men followed them behind the boulder and stayed quiet, waiting for these men to pass so they could be on their way. With every passing moment Merry and Pippin drew closer to their deaths and they needed to make haste.
Susan's chest tightened at the thought.
Seconds passed by before the horses clad in armor and the men dressed in green and metal rode past their hiding spot, not even detecting their presence on their land. The last of the riders sped by and Susan was about to let out a sigh of relief, only to have her gasp the next instant.
Aragorn rushed past her and out into the open. He cupped his hands around his mouth and began to yell. "Riders of Rohan! What news from the mark!"
Susan then let out the sigh she had been holding but it was to calm herself instead of done in relief. Legolas took a step closer to her, causing the queen to look over at him. Gimili and Peter had already ran out to join Aragorn as they waited for the calvary to turn about and come back around to them.
"Have faith, my lady. Though I do not like what Aragorn has done, I trust his judgment, as I believe you do too." He told her. The first words he had uttered to her since their last battle four days ago.
Susan smiled slightly and nodded before running after Legolas to rejoin her companions. She came to stand between Peter and Legolas, waiting as the riders drew near.
Have faith. She repeated to herself. Do not always see the negative side of things, Susan.
The riders had reached them then and circled, completely surrounding the five companions. The horses came to a halt and the next instant more than twenty spears and arrows were pointed in their direction.
On instinct, Susan raised her bow and notched an arrow simultaneously, pointing her weapon at the man closest to her who had the looks of their leader. She saw that Legolas too had his bow raised.
The two group was silent for a moment, as if deciding what to think and what to do with one another.
Susan felt a gentle hand go to her wrist.
"Susan, put it down." She heard her brother whisper to her. "Do not do anything foolish."
She took a few deep breaths, trying to lose the adrenaline that had flooded her system, before lowering her bow and then replacing it on her back. Peter was right. She was being foolish, thinking she would take on twenty men with spears and bows and swords.
They were outnumbered and she needed to act like it.
She looked over at Legolas and gave him a slight nod,silently telling him to put away his weapon. The elf nodded in return before lowering his own bow. Unlike Susan, however, he did not put his weapon away.
The man that Susan had earlier thought to be the leader, identified himself by lowering from his steed and standing before them.
"What business do two men, an elf, a dwarf, and-" The man cut off when his eyes met Susan. She was puzzled as to why it was. The look he gave was not filled with lust nor hatred but merely sheer bewilderment. "And an armed woman have in the Ridamark?" He questioned.
"Why don't you tell me your business, horse mater. Then I will gladly let you know mine." Gimili said, speaking up with disrespect in his words. Susan believed that the man's tone was the thing that caused the dwarf's anger.
The man of Rohan glared down at Gimili. The dwarf glared glared dangerously back. "I would cut off your head, dwarf, for such manners as yours...that is if you stood any farther off the ground."
Susan scoffed and without thinking, her need to say something took over. "He did not mean any harm, my lord. I assure you. We are simply passing through-"
The man spun on Susan, his bright blue eyes stared into hers. The man tilted his head to her. "And for what reason would a lady such as yourself be traveling with four men?" He looked at the rest of her companions and shook his head, coming up with several scenerios that Susan knew were probably vile and disgusting.
"I do not see how that matter concerns you." She spat, suddenly furious at the man, herself.
The leader's gaze shot back to her and instantly she knew that she had gone too far. How was it that her courtly manner had disappeared so quickly? Where had she learned to speak in such a way that makes her seem wretched? She assumed that this type of attitude had come from Peter and Edmund...both had a way of using their mouths to start a fight.
The man took a step toward her but Susan did not move nor flinch. The gray eyes that stared at her were furious and angry, obviously, but she did not sense any evil in them strangely enough. He did not frighten her though she was sure he meant to.
Something was different about this man...she sensed that he was not an enemy of theirs.
"You should watch your tongue, my lady. It will get you into trouble one of these days." He lowered his voice. "I would hate for that day to be today."
The next second Susan heard the creaking of a bow string being pulled back at the same time her brother put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
She looked over to see that Legolas had his bow raised and pointed at this man's head. "You would die before you even could touch her." He growled.
The leader's men raised their weapons also, pointing them dangerously close to the Fellowship's faces. As Peter did to her, Susan reached over and laid her tiny hand on top of Legolas's wrist. His eyes did not leave the man but his face softened slightly.
"Legolas," Susan whispered, finally causing the elf to look at her. Their eyes connected and nothing more needed to be said for him to settle his nerves.
The elf took a few deep, calming breaths before finally lowering his bow and nodding. Susan smiled slightly as she removed her hand that she realized was still touching him. Their eyes stayed connected for a second longer before being interrupted by Peter who pulled Susan closer to him by the hand, keeping an eye on the sister who apparently felt the need to cause trouble with these men.
Aragorn stepped forward slightly from his position next to Peter. "We mean no harm. We are friends of Theoden, your king." He said in his most trustworthy voice.
The man stared at Aragorn for a moment as if trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. "The king can no longer tell friend from foe." He told them sadly. "Nor does he recognize his own kin."
The man removed his helmet causing his men to lower their weapons. This leader, Susan thought, was a handsome enough man. Scruffy, yes, with long, tangled hair and an unshaven dirty face but still a decent sort. From his looks Susan could tell that they were most definitely a long way from Rivendell- this was a more barbaric place.
He looked around at his men. "My company is the last of those loyal to Rohan."
"What has happened that has caused the king to forget?" Peter asked.
The man who stood in from of him sighed. "The king's mind has been poisoned by his advisor, Grimma. No longer are the king's thoughts and decisions his own."
Susan shook her head, thinking how terrible this situation must be for the leader. To have his own family member exile him, throw him out without anywhere to go, was just something she could not imagine.
Apparently, the men did not share her sympathetic sentiments for Aragorn nodded before continuing on. "We have been tracking a pack of Uruk Haiacross the plain...they have taken two of our friends captive."
The leader nodded. "We came across them in the night and slaughtered them. Over there we piled the carcasses and burned them." He told them as he nodded his head in the direction of a large amount of smoke billowing into the sky near a forest.
Susan gasped audible. "There-there were two hobbits with the Uraki. Did you see them?" She asked timidly.
"They would be small." Aragorn added. "Only children to your eyes."
The man thought for a second, looking down at the ground during the process. He finally looked back up and them, pursed his lips, and shook his head. "We left none alive."
Susan felt her heart sink. The queen grabbed her brother's arm to steady herself.
The hobbits were dead? They had failed?
"Peter," She said, trying to fight her urge to cry for their loss.
The king simply put his arm around his sister's shoulders as he tried to console her again.
"I am truly sorry." The man told them, looking over at Susan while tears filled her eyes as she stared into the distance.
Susan did not pay much attention to the events that followed for her mind was to wrapped up in an image of her two hobbit friends. From these thoughts her mind wandered to Sam and Frodo and how they were doing. If Merry and Pippin were dead could that mean that the others were too? These thoughts then lead to her younger siblings, worrying about their safety and whereabouts.
Oh, how she wish she knew the condition that all were in.
Aslan, please give me strength.
Susan vaguely heard the leader talking to Aragorn before the sound of horse hooves indicated the company's departure.
"Sue," Peter called to her, pulling her from her thoughts. The queen looked up to see that her brother was standing with the other men next to three beautiful horses. Peter gave her a small, sympathetic smile. "We must go check." Peter hoisted himself onto the horse and held his hand out to his sister, waiting to help her on.
Susan sighed, straightened her back to it's full extent, and walked over to him as gracefully as she possibly could. The queen bypassed her brother's awaiting hand and pulled herself up on to the horse by herself.
Peter took a deep breath, knowing full well that in a few minutes Susan would be even more distraught that she was now.
Next to the royals, Legolas and Gimili had mounted a white horse and Aragorn had already started making his way to the burning pile on his own brown horse.
In a matter of minutes the group came to the pile and dismounted.
Susan kept a hand over her mouth due to the smell of the burning flesh. The sight of the pile-no, mountain-of charred bodies caused a chill to run down her spine. Among these beasts, did the bodies of the hobbits lie? Could the men of Rohan truly slain two innocent souls without knowing they did so?
The five of them walked over to the carcasses and began looking. Gimili, Peter, and Legolas began poking around the Uruk Hai bodies, looking for some sign of the small hobbits Susan circled the pile, doing the same, while Aragorn strayed farther away from all of them.
From the corner of his eye, Peter could see the elf looking at his sister as she searched, causing a small rush of anger to flow through him. He turned to Legolas and looked him full on as if silently telling him to stop.
The blond elf stared back at Peter with knowing blue eyes. "Your sister is feeling so much sorrow, my king." He told the eldest Pevensie.
Peter nodded. "Susan is very empathetic. She usually suffers due to how much she cares for others." Peter told him before turning back to the pile. "I hate to see her suffer for the love and compassion she holds for others but somehow she always manages to get herself hurt."
"It is better to be hurt by love than to never have loved at all." Legolas countered, feeling slightly defensive.
Peter froze and looked over at the elf again. He took a rough, deep breath. The king shook his head. "It is better for Susan to not love than nearly be destroyed by it again. I will not let her return to that state ever again. Do you understand?" Peter warned.
It was in that moment that Legolas felt the threat that Peter carried. He raised an eyebrow at the king and tried to response but could not. What was he to say? Nothing. The elf's glance went back to Susan for a second before going back to the pile, thinking on what King Peter had just said.
"Look," Gimili said, holding a burned object in his hands. Susan quickly came over to the three men to get a better look at what he had found. "It is one of their belts."
Susan felt tears come to her eyes and the weight of the loss rushed into her chest again as if she had been hit with a brick. The queen walked away from the men, finding she needed some fresh air, and stared off into the dense forest that stretched before her. Her arms wrapped around her torso, suddenly feeling cold.
From behind her, Susan heard Aragorn cry out in rage and grief as Legolas sent a pray out to the two lost hobbits. Tears freely ran down her eyes now; she did not care if the men saw her crying now.
All was silent for a moment before Aragorn spoke. "A hobbit lay on the grass here, another laid beside him." He began, reading the lines of the ground. "They crawled away from the action." A shuffle of feet followed. "Their bonds were cut."
At those words, Susan spun around to see what Aragorn was doing. He was kneeling down, holding rope in his hand. The man's eyes came to Susan's and he smiled slightly; he stood, again staring at the ground. "They continued crawling away from the battle until they reached-"
"Fangorn..." Gimili exclaimed as he, Peter, and Legolas came near Aragorn and Susan. "Why would they do something so foolish?"
"What's wrong with the forest? I mean, if they made into there they should be safe, right?" Susan asked frantically, needing to know if it was insane for her to hope for their survival. She looked around at the three men from Middle Earth, all with various degrees of doubt on their faces.
"It is a dangerous forest, Susan." Aragorn exclaimed. "They say the Saruman wanders through Fangorn...there is no way to be sure if they are alive unless we go in there."
Susan nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?" She asked.
The men looked around at each other as if asking the same question. Without an answer, Susan took out her bow and began running toward the forest.
Aragorn and Peter shared a glance behind her, both smiled at her persistence before all of them followed her into the depths of Fangorn Forest.
So, I hope you enjoyed it. I had fun writing this chapter. Please tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!